The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline poses a massive threat to pristine areas across central and northern BC, including the Great Bear Rainforest. The pipeline would bring over 500,000 barrels of crude oil from the tar sands in Alberta to super tankers in Kitimat, BC.
The Northern Gateway pipeline would cross more than 800 streams and rivers, endangering salmon spawning habitat in the upper Fraser, Skeena, and Kitimat watersheds. The proposal would also bring over 225 giant oil tankers per year to the north coast of BC , where an oil spill could cause irreversible damage to the pristine Great Bear Rainforest.
Like Kinder Morgan, Enbridge has a history of oil spills and incidents, including the 2010 Kalamazoo River spill that introduced the world to the terrible challenges of cleaning up tar sands bitumen. The company’s poor response prompted a scathing review from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who ordered the company to come back and finish the clean-up job after they’d left the mess to local residents.
In addition to the oil spill risks, this project represents a serious threat to our climate. Every year, Northern Gateway would allow for a guaranteed "carbon spill" of 100 million tonnes of climate-changing greenhouse gases, which would be released into the Earth's atmosphere when the oil is burned.
Overall, the potential economic benefit to British Columbians is not worth the risk to our resources, especially given that the majority of jobs provided by the project are temporary. If an oil spill were to occur, it would jeopardize thousands of jobs in other, more sustainable industries such as fishing and tourism.
Over 130 First Nations groups have signed the "Save the Fraser Declaration" against the transport of tar sands oil across their lands and waters, and a number of BC municipalities have passed formal resolutions opposing the Northern Gateway project. Polling consistently shows that the majority of British Columbians oppose the project.
On June 17th, 2014, Canada's federal government announced its approval of the project, subject to 209 conditions as outlined by the National Energy Board's review panel. Given the conditions, in addition to legal challenges against the pipeline and strong, unified opposition across BC, we know the fight to stop this risky proposal is far from over.
Species at Risk Affected by Northern Gateway
In February 2014, the Wilderness Committee celebrated an important legal win on behalf of four endangered species that live along the Enbridge Northern Gateway route. Represented by Ecojustice and partnered with other environmental groups, we had launched a lawsuit to demand action to protect the marbled murrelet, southern mountain caribou, Nechako sturgeon and humpback whale. Our lawsuit identified serious problems in the federal government's implementation of the Species at Risk Act.
In the end, the court ruled that the government had acted unlawfully by delaying recovery strategies and failing to protect these and numerous other species threatened by industrial projects like Northern Gateway. Now, the pressure is on the Canadian government to step up and produce meaningful recovery strategies for the 160+ species that still need them.
Read more about the lawsuit here:
- Species at risk recovery strategy delay litigation backgrounder (Ecojustice)
ArcGIS Online Map of Proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Tar Sands Pipeline
The proposed Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline route is shown in red, while the proposed tanker routes along the mid (in orange) and north (in purple) coast are also shown. You can toggle the legend, zoom in or change the basemap imagery with the buttons across the top. You can pan around map by clicking on map and dragging with your mouse. Click 'View Larger Map' below map to open the map in ArcGIS Online map viewer.
Mapping Pipeline Routes in Northern BC
To view a map of northern BC showing the Northern Gateway pipeline route and other proposed oil and gas pipelines (and affected parks), click here.
Other resources:
- Stop Oil and Gas Pipelines (educational report, 2014)
- Who's Looking Out for Canada's Environment? (educational report, 2012)
Photo: Citizens say "No" to Enbridge at the Defend our Climate rally in Vancouver, May 2014. (Michael Wheatley)